Strangled by the pressure

Teens struggle to be as thin as the models they see

Some teens worry too much about their body size from seeing images of thin Hollywood starlets.

When women look in the mirror, they often see someone bigger and less attractive than they really are.

As models get ever thinner and smaller sizes begin to fall into the plus-sized category, women find it tough to feel good about their curves.

Megan McCoy, 17, is no exception.

"I pay attention to it because I am a teenage girl," Ms. McCoy, of Anderson, said. "It makes me think about, am I not skinny enough and stuff."

Although Ms. McCoy is tall and slender, media images do affect her self-esteem at times, she said.

"It makes me feel a little self-conscious, but then I start thinking there's no way that (super slim bodies) can be healthy. Still, when I go to Hollister or something and I try on pants, I'm not a size 0 or 1 or 2. I'm in 7s and 9s. It makes me think twice about it."

Recently, TV host and former model Tyra Banks has been criticized for being too heavy.

Ms. Banks, who recently told People magazine that she is 5'10" and weighs 161 pounds, said she is about 30 pounds heavier than when she landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue in 1997.

The industry that holds Ms. Banks and other celebrities to such high standards create body-image issues starting at young ages, as pre-teen and teen girls attempt to emulate the body sizes and shapes they see portrayed in fashion magazines and on movie and television screens.

There's even a name for the disorder in which women are unable to see their body accurately: dysmorphia. It has been recognized as a legitimate mental disorder for at least 20 years by the American Psychiatric Association, and can severely affect sufferers' lives. It even has been linked to high suicide rates.

Tania Stewart, a University of South Carolina student from Anderson, works to combat women's negative body images through her work as president of the campus group, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA). Through her mentoring of Girl Scouts in the Columbia area, the girls have become involved in the Dressing Room Project.

At TheDressingRoomProject.org, girls can find information about how to make other women feel better about their bodies and boost their self-esteem.

Participants create postcards with positive messages such as "You are beautiful," which they place on mirrors in department store dressing rooms.

Ms. Stewart and the Girl Scouts she works with plan to ambush a dressing room with signs they have created.

"That way, when a woman is trying on a bathing suit and hating her body for all of the flaws she sees, she can read an inspirational message to remind herself of her good qualities," Ms. Stewart said.

Clarissa Brydie-Keesley is on a similar mission.

She works with girls ages 12 to 18 through a program called Circle of Sisters, and at a summer program called Camp Essence in Pendleton.

"I run into it all the time," Ms. Brydie-Keesley said. "I try to tell them that God created everybody different, and God loves you no matter what you look like because he created you to be you. But they think adults have never been young and we don't know what we are talking about."

As she spends time with the girls in her programs, Ms. Brydie-Keesley hears comments from them such as "I'm fat," "I'm not pretty" and "Nobody is going to want to go with me because I am so big."

"I try to tell them that those people on TV are not healthy people, especially the anorexic-looking ones, and they are going through the same problems as you all are," she said.

So she works with the girls on boosting their self-esteem by exercising and using their talents in step dancing and other creative activities.

She also shares her own story with them.

Ms. Brydie-Keesley never gained much weight during pregnancies until her fourth one. But when she gave birth two months ago, she had gained more than 50 pounds.

Now she struggles with dreams of fitting into her size 10 jeans again.

"It's all about you and how you feel on the inside," she said. "I still feel good and look good. I would like to get back down to a size 10, and in fact, I bought five pairs of jeans in size 10 recently. But right now, I'm in a size 16. We have to stop letting society put these restrictions on us. We are beautiful no matter what size we are."

Samantha Harris can be reached at (864) 260-1259 or by e-mail at harrisss@IndependentMail.com.